Dr. Yuzhuo Wang, Ph.D., F.C.A.H.S., is a Distinguished Scientist at BC Cancer and a Senior Scientist at the Vancouver Prostate Centre. He is also a Full Professor in the Department of Urologic Sciences at the University of British Columbia and the founder of the unique Living Tumor Laboratory (www.livingtumolab.com). Dr. Wang has authored over 242 peer-reviewed articles, 14 book chapters, and edited two books (PDX Models of Human Cancer and Tumor Dormancy) with an H-index of 87.

Dr. Wang is an internationally renowned pioneer in the field of cancer modeling. He developed a novel method for establishing patient-derived xenograft (PDX) cancer models that closely resemble patients' malignancies from which they are derived. He has established over 300 high-fidelity next-generation PDX models of various malignancies in his Living Tumor Laboratory, which have been effectively applied in preclinical drug efficacy studies, discovery and validation of potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets, and evidence-based personalized cancer therapy

Dr. Wang’s contributions to cancer research can be highlighted by several novel hypotheses he has proposed, such as hypotheses on "prostate stem cells," "epithelial-immune cell transition (EIT)," "cancer-generated lactic acid is a critical, immunosuppressive metabolite rather than a 'waste product' (which has been believed for over 90 years)," and "Tumor dormancy is a non-genetic disease." Based on his innovative theories and ideas, he has maintained a high level of grant funding that has led to widely recognized, ground-breaking research, including the discovery of several new therapeutic targets and the development of novel therapeutics targeting GATA2, BIRC6, MCT4, HP1-alpha, G9a and B7H4 genes. Three biotech companies have been formed in Canada based on his discoveries.  

Dr. Wang has given more than 220 lectures worldwide, including at the most prestigious prostate cancer meetings. He has received many awards for his academic achievements in cancer research, including the Translation Research Award from Roche Canada (2009), the Innovative Scholar Award from the International Cancer Alliance for Research and Education (ICARE), US (2010), UBC Faculty of Medicine Distinguished Achievement Award (2011), Department of Urologic Sciences Research Teaching Excellence Award (2015), and seven UBC Department of Urologic Sciences Outstanding Academic Performance Awards (2013, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023), and two PCF Challenge Awards (US) (2020, 2021). He has been a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (FCAHS) since September 2018.

Affiliations

Distinguished Scientist, Department of Experimental Therapeutics, BC Cancer

Senior Scientist, Vancouver Prostate Centre

Professor, Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia

Leader, Living Tumor Laboratory

Credentials

Post Doctoral Fellow, Department of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco, 1997-2000

Ph.D. (Medicine), Department of Anatomy, University of Hong Kong, 1993-1997

Projects

Stromal Gene Expression Predicts And May Drive Metastasis in Prostate Cancer

Men with low to intermediate risk prostate cancer (PCa) face vexing decisions regarding treatment. The tumour can remain indolent and will not impact the patient within his lifetime, or it can progress to become life threatening (metastatic tumour). A holy grail of PCa research is the identification of prognostic biomarkers, which are biological factors that are associated with the disease outcomes, that can be used to improve patient risk stratification at time of diagnosis and guide treatment decisions.

Application of antibody internalization domain to improve the efficacy and safety of Antibody Drug Conjugates

Recent revolution in anti-cancer therapy utilizes the antibody's power to target cancer cells with chemotoxins. This approach of conjugating toxin to antibody (ADC= antibody drug conjugates) with specific affinity to cancer cells have dramatically improved both the safety and efficacy of the treatment. The most notable recent success is Kadcyla which combines DM1 toxin with anti-HER2 antibody to treat breast cancer. A critical factor in developing a successful ADC is an antibody's ability to internalize itself once it binds to the target cancer cell's biomarkers (receptors).

Identification of HP1a as a key regulator and a novel therapeutic target for neuroendocrine prostate cancer

Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) is a currently incurable, lethal subtype of prostate cancer that can develop from the disease following prolonged hormonal therapy. Unfortunately, there are few treatment options available for NEPC and new therapeutic targets and more effective treatments are urgently needed to improve its management. A state-of-the-art pre-clinical model of NEPC, developed in our group, is giving us unprecedented levels of accuracy in monitoring how NEPC progresses.

Function and therapeutic potential of SUV420H2 in neuroendocrine prostate cancer

Treatment-resistant neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) is a currently incurable, lethal subtype of prostate cancer that usually develops following prolonged hormonal therapy. The only treatment option for NEPC is a highly toxic chemotherapy, which provides only limited survival benefits. Therefore, more effective treatments are urgently needed to improve the management of NEPC. Our current research goal is to understand how NEPC develops and progresses and pave the road to develop new therapy for the disease treatment.

Selected Publications

Stromal Gene Expression is Predictive for Metastatic Primary Prostate Cancer.

European urology, 2018
Mo, Fan, Lin, Dong, Takhar, Mandeep, Ramnarine, Varune Rohan, Dong, Xin, Bell, Robert H, Volik, Stanislav V, Wang, Kendric, Xue, Hui, Wang, Yuwei, Haegert, Anne, Anderson, Shawn, Brahmbhatt, Sonal, Erho, Nicholas, Wang, Xinya, Gout, Peter W, Morris, James, Karnes, R Jeffrey, Den, Robert B, Klein, Eric A, Schaeffer, Edward M, Ross, Ashley, Ren, Shancheng, Sahinalp, S Cenk, Li, Yingrui, Xu, Xun, Wang, Jun, Wang, Jian, Gleave, Martin E, Davicioni, Elai, Sun, Yinghao, Wang, Yuzhuo, Collins, Colin C

The long noncoding RNA landscape of neuroendocrine prostate cancer and its clinical implications.

GigaScience, 2018
Ramnarine, Varune Rohan, Alshalalfa, Mohammed, Mo, Fan, Nabavi, Noushin, Erho, Nicholas, Takhar, Mandeep, Shukin, Robert, Brahmbhatt, Sonal, Gawronski, Alexander, Kobelev, Maxim, Nouri, Mannan, Lin, Dong, Tsai, Harrison, Lotan, Tamara L, Karnes, R Jefferey, Rubin, Mark A, Zoubeidi, Amina, Gleave, Martin E, Sahinalp, Cenk, Wyatt, Alexander W, Volik, Stanislav V, Beltran, Himisha, Davicioni, Elai, Wang, Yuzhuo, Collins, Colin C

Selective Inhibition of the Lactate Transporter MCT4 Reduces Growth of Invasive Bladder Cancer.

Molecular cancer therapeutics, 2018
Todenhöfer, Tilman, Seiler, Roland, Stewart, Craig, Moskalev, Igor, Gao, Jian, Ladhar, Simroop, Kamjabi, Alireza, Al Nakouzi, Nader, Hayashi, Tetsuharo, Choi, Stephen, Wang, Yuzhuo, Frees, Sebastian, Daugaard, Mads, Oo, Htoo Zarni, Fisel, Pascale, Schwab, Matthias, Schaeffeler, Elke, Douglas, James, Hennenlotter, Jörg, Bedke, Jens, Gibb, Ewan A, Fazli, Ladan, Stenzl, Arnulf, Black, Peter C

Proteogenomic Characterization of Patient-Derived Xenografts Highlights the Role of REST in Neuroendocrine Differentiation of Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer.

Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, 2019
Flores-Morales, Amilcar, Bergmann, Tobias B, Lavallee, Charlotte, Batth, Tanveer S, Lin, Dong, Lerdrup, Mads, Friis, Stine, Bartels, Anette, Kristensen, Gitte, Krzyzanowska, Agnieszka, Xue, Hui, Fazli, Ladan, Hansen, Klaus H, Røder, Martin A, Brasso, Klaus, Moreira, José M, Bjartell, Anders, Wang, Yuzhuo, Olsen, Jesper V, Collins, Colin C, Iglesias-Gato, Diego

ONECUT2 is a driver of neuroendocrine prostate cancer.

Nature communications, 2019
Guo, Haiyang, Ci, Xinpei, Ahmed, Musaddeque, Hua, Junjie Tony, Soares, Fraser, Lin, Dong, Puca, Loredana, Vosoughi, Aram, Xue, Hui, Li, Estelle, Su, Peiran, Chen, Sujun, Nguyen, Tran, Liang, Yi, Zhang, Yuzhe, Xu, Xin, Xu, Jing, Sheahan, Anjali V, Ba-Alawi, Wail, Zhang, Si, Mahamud, Osman, Vellanki, Ravi N, Gleave, Martin, Bristow, Robert G, Haibe-Kains, Benjamin, Poirier, John T, Rudin, Charles M, Tsao, Ming-Sound, Wouters, Bradly G, Fazli, Ladan, Feng, Felix Y, Ellis, Leigh, van der Kwast, Theo, Berlin, Alejandro, Koritzinsky, Marianne, Boutros, Paul C, Zoubeidi, Amina, Beltran, Himisha, Wang, Yuzhuo, He, Housheng Hansen

BAP1 haploinsufficiency predicts a distinct immunogenic class of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma.

Genome medicine, 2019
Shrestha, Raunak, Nabavi, Noushin, Lin, Yen-Yi, Mo, Fan, Anderson, Shawn, Volik, Stanislav, Adomat, Hans H, Lin, Dong, Xue, Hui, Dong, Xin, Shukin, Robert, Bell, Robert H, McConeghy, Brian, Haegert, Anne, Brahmbhatt, Sonal, Li, Estelle, Oo, Htoo Zarni, Hurtado-Coll, Antonio, Fazli, Ladan, Zhou, Joshua, McConnell, Yarrow, McCart, Andrea, Lowy, Andrew, Morin, Gregg B, Chen, Tianhui, Daugaard, Mads, Sahinalp, S Cenk, Hach, Faraz, Le Bihan, Stephane, Gleave, Martin E, Wang, Yuzhuo, Churg, Andrew, Collins, Colin C

Delta-like protein 3 expression and therapeutic targeting in neuroendocrine prostate cancer.

Science translational medicine, 2019
Puca, Loredana, Gavyert, Katie, Sailer, Verena, Conteduca, Vincenza, Dardenne, Etienne, Sigouros, Michael, Isse, Kumiko, Kearney, Megan, Vosoughi, Aram, Fernandez, Luisa, Pan, Heng, Motanagh, Samaneh, Hess, Judy, Donoghue, Adam J, Sboner, Andrea, Wang, Yuzhuo, Dittamore, Ryan, Rickman, David, Nanus, David M, Tagawa, Scott T, Elemento, Olivier, Mosquera, Juan Miguel, Saunders, Laura, Beltran, Himisha

Differential Expression of Glucose Transporters and Hexokinases in Prostate Cancer with a Neuroendocrine Gene Signature: A Mechanistic Perspective for 18F-FDG Imaging of PSMA-Suppressed Tumors.

Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine, 2020
Bakht, Martin K, Lovnicki, Jessica M, Tubman, Janice, Stringer, Keith F, Chiaramonte, Jonathan, Reynolds, Michael R, Derecichei, Iulian, Ferraiuolo, Rosa-Maria, Fifield, Bre-Anne, Lubanska, Dorota, Oh, So Won, Cheon, Gi Jeong, Kwak, Cheol, Jeong, Chang Wook, Kang, Keon Wook, Trant, John F, Morrissey, Colm, Coleman, Ilsa M, Wang, Yuzhuo, Ahmadzadehfar, Hojjat, Dong, Xuesen, Porter, Lisa A

Activating AKT1 and PIK3CA Mutations in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer.

European urology, 2020
Herberts, Cameron, Murtha, Andrew J, Fu, Simon, Wang, Gang, Schönlau, Elena, Xue, Hui, Lin, Dong, Gleave, Anna, Yip, Steven, Angeles, Arkhjamil, Hotte, Sebastien, Tran, Ben, North, Scott, Taavitsainen, Sinja, Beja, Kevin, Vandekerkhove, Gillian, Ritch, Elie, Warner, Evan, Saad, Fred, Iqbal, Nayyer, Nykter, Matti, Gleave, Martin E, Wang, Yuzhuo, Annala, Matti, Chi, Kim N, Wyatt, Alexander W

SPOP mutation induces DNA methylation via stabilizing GLP/G9a.

Nature communications, 2021
Zhang, Jianong, Gao, Kun, Xie, Hongyan, Wang, Dejie, Zhang, Pingzhao, Wei, Ting, Yan, Yuqian, Pan, Yunqian, Ye, Wenbin, Chen, Huifen, Shi, Qing, Li, Yao, Zhao, Shi-Min, Hou, Xiaonan, Weroha, Saravut J, Wang, Yuzhuo, Zhang, Jun, Karnes, R Jeffrey, He, Housheng Hansen, Wang, Liguo, Wang, Chenji, Huang, Haojie

The long noncoding RNA H19 regulates tumor plasticity in neuroendocrine prostate cancer.

Nature communications, 2021
Singh, Neha, Ramnarine, Varune R, Song, Jin H, Pandey, Ritu, Padi, Sathish K R, Nouri, Mannan, Olive, Virginie, Kobelev, Maxim, Okumura, Koichi, McCarthy, David, Hanna, Michelle M, Mukherjee, Piali, Sun, Belinda, Lee, Benjamin R, Parker, J Brandon, Chakravarti, Debabrata, Warfel, Noel A, Zhou, Muhan, Bearss, Jeremiah J, Gibb, Ewan A, Alshalalfa, Mohammed, Karnes, R Jefferey, Small, Eric J, Aggarwal, Rahul, Feng, Felix, Wang, Yuzhuo, Buttyan, Ralph, Zoubeidi, Amina, Rubin, Mark, Gleave, Martin, Slack, Frank J, Davicioni, Elai, Beltran, Himisha, Collins, Colin, Kraft, Andrew S

Targeting SWI/SNF ATPases in enhancer-addicted prostate cancer.

Nature, 2022
Xiao, Lanbo, Parolia, Abhijit, Qiao, Yuanyuan, Bawa, Pushpinder, Eyunni, Sanjana, Mannan, Rahul, Carson, Sandra E, Chang, Yu, Wang, Xiaoju, Zhang, Yuping, Vo, Josh N, Kregel, Steven, Simko, Stephanie A, Delekta, Andrew D, Jaber, Mustapha, Zheng, Heng, Apel, Ingrid J, McMurry, Lisa, Su, Fengyun, Wang, Rui, Zelenka-Wang, Sylvia, Sasmal, Sanjita, Khare, Leena, Mukherjee, Subhendu, Abbineni, Chandrasekhar, Aithal, Kiran, Bhakta, Mital S, Ghurye, Jay, Cao, Xuhong, Navone, Nora M, Nesvizhskii, Alexey I, Mehra, Rohit, Vaishampayan, Ulka, Blanchette, Marco, Wang, Yuzhuo, Samajdar, Susanta, Ramachandra, Murali, Chinnaiyan, Arul M

Identification of alternative protein targets of glutamate-ureido-lysine associated with PSMA tracer uptake in prostate cancer cells.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2022
Bakht, Martin K, Hayward, John J, Shahbazi-Raz, Farsheed, Skubal, Magdalena, Tamura, Ryo, Stringer, Keith F, Meister, Daniel, Venkadakrishnan, Varadha Balaji, Xue, Hui, Pillon, Adam, Stover, Mathew, Tronchin, Adam, Fifield, Bre-Anne, Mader, Lavleen, Ku, Sheng-Yu, Cheon, Gi Jeong, Kang, Keon Wook, Wang, Yuzhuo, Dong, Xuesen, Beltran, Himisha, Grimm, Jan, Porter, Lisa A, Trant, John F

Reformation of the chondroitin sulfate glycocalyx enables progression of AR-independent prostate cancer.

Nature communications, 2022
Al-Nakouzi, Nader, Wang, Chris Kedong, Oo, Htoo Zarni, Nelepcu, Irina, Lallous, Nada, Spliid, Charlotte B, Khazamipour, Nastaran, Lo, Joey, Truong, Sarah, Collins, Colin, Hui, Desmond, Esfandnia, Shaghayegh, Adomat, Hans, Clausen, Thomas Mandel, Gustavsson, Tobias, Choudhary, Swati, Dagil, Robert, Corey, Eva, Wang, Yuzhuo, Chauchereau, Anne, Fazli, Ladan, Esko, Jeffrey D, Salanti, Ali, Nelson, Peter S, Gleave, Martin E, Daugaard, Mads

Transcriptional profiling of matched patient biopsies clarifies molecular determinants of enzalutamide-induced lineage plasticity.

Nature communications, 2022
Westbrook, Thomas C, Guan, Xiangnan, Rodansky, Eva, Flores, Diana, Liu, Chia Jen, Udager, Aaron M, Patel, Radhika A, Haffner, Michael C, Hu, Ya-Mei, Sun, Duanchen, Beer, Tomasz M, Foye, Adam, Aggarwal, Rahul, Quigley, David A, Youngren, Jack F, Ryan, Charles J, Gleave, Martin, Wang, Yuzhuo, Huang, Jiaoti, Coleman, Ilsa, Morrissey, Colm, Nelson, Peter S, Evans, Christopher P, Lara, Primo, Reiter, Robert E, Witte, Owen, Rettig, Matthew, Wong, Christopher K, Weinstein, Alana S, Uzunangelov, Vlado, Stuart, Josh M, Thomas, George V, Feng, Felix Y, Small, Eric J, Yates, Joel A, Xia, Zheng, Alumkal, Joshi J

Immunotherapeutic Targeting and PET Imaging of DLL3 in Small-Cell Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer.

Cancer research, 2023
Chou, Jonathan, Egusa, Emily A, Wang, Sinan, Badura, Michelle L, Lee, Fei, Bidkar, Anil P, Zhu, Jun, Shenoy, Tanushree, Trepka, Kai, Robinson, Troy M, Steri, Veronica, Huang, Jiaoti, Wang, Yuzhuo, Small, Eric J, Chan, Emily, Stohr, Bradley A, Ashworth, Alan, Delafontaine, Brant, Rottey, Sylvie, Cooke, Keegan S, Hashemi Sadraei, Nooshin, Yu, Brian, Salvati, Mark, Bailis, Julie M, Feng, Felix Y, Flavell, Robert R, Aggarwal, Rahul

Dynamic phase separation of the androgen receptor and its coactivators key to regulate gene expression.

Nucleic acids research, 2023
Zhang, Fan, Biswas, Maitree, Massah, Shabnam, Lee, Joseph, Lingadahalli, Shreyas, Wong, Samantha, Wells, Christopher, Foo, Jane, Khan, Nabeel, Morin, Helene, Saxena, Neetu, Kung, Sonia H Y, Sun, Bei, Parra Nuñez, Ana Karla, Sanchez, Christophe, Chan, Novia, Ung, Lauren, Altıntaş, Umut Berkay, Bui, Jennifer M, Wang, Yuzhuo, Fazli, Ladan, Oo, Htoo Zarni, Rennie, Paul S, Lack, Nathan A, Cherkasov, Artem, Gleave, Martin E, Gsponer, Jörg, Lallous, Nada

The third symposium on treatment-induced neuroendocrine prostate cancer: insights and future directions.

Epigenomics, 2024
Wang, Yuzhuo, Scurll, Joshua, Rascón, Itzel Astiazarán, Cui, Cassandra, Ni, Yuchao, Shi, Ace Mingchen, Gangadharannambiar, Priyadarsini, Wang, Yu, Akamatsu, Shusuke, Beltran, Himisha, Cox, Michael, Crea, Francesco, Daugaard, Mads, Dong, Xuesen, Haffner, Michael, He, Hansen, Jachetti, Elena, Kyprianou, Natasha, Li, Benyi, Ong, Christopher E, Rickman, David S, Sen, Triparna, Zhu, Helen He, Zoubeidi, Amina, Gleave, Martin E

Tumor-agnostic cancer therapy using antibodies targeting oncofetal chondroitin sulfate.

Nature communications, 2024
Vidal-Calvo, Elena Ethel, Martin-Salazar, Anne, Choudhary, Swati, Dagil, Robert, Raghavan, Sai Sundar Rajan, Duvnjak, Lara, Nordmaj, Mie Anemone, Clausen, Thomas Mandel, Skafte, Ann, Oberkofler, Jan, Wang, Kaituo, Agerbæk, Mette Ø, Løppke, Caroline, Jørgensen, Amalie Mundt, Ropac, Daria, Mujollari, Joana, Willis, Shona, Garcias López, Agnès, Miller, Rebecca Louise, Karlsson, Richard Torbjörn Gustav, Goerdeler, Felix, Chen, Yen-Hsi, Colaço, Ana R, Wang, Yong, Lavstsen, Thomas, Martowicz, Agnieszka, Nelepcu, Irina, Marzban, Mona, Oo, Htoo Zarni, Ørum-Madsen, Maj Sofie, Wang, Yuzhuo, Nielsen, Morten A, Clausen, Henrik, Wierer, Michael, Wolf, Dominik, Gögenur, Ismail, Theander, Thor G, Al-Nakouzi, Nader, Gustavsson, Tobias, Daugaard, Mads, Salanti, Ali

CDK12 loss drives prostate cancer progression, transcription-replication conflicts, and synthetic lethality with paralog CDK13.

Cell reports. Medicine, 2024
Tien, Jean Ching-Yi, Luo, Jie, Chang, Yu, Zhang, Yuping, Cheng, Yunhui, Wang, Xiaoju, Yang, Jianzhang, Mannan, Rahul, Mahapatra, Somnath, Shah, Palak, Wang, Xiao-Ming, Todd, Abigail J, Eyunni, Sanjana, Cheng, Caleb, Rebernick, Ryan J, Xiao, Lanbo, Bao, Yi, Neiswender, James, Brough, Rachel, Pettitt, Stephen J, Cao, Xuhong, Miner, Stephanie J, Zhou, Licheng, Wu, Yi-Mi, Labanca, Estefania, Wang, Yuzhuo, Parolia, Abhijit, Cieslik, Marcin, Robinson, Dan R, Wang, Zhen, Feng, Felix Y, Chou, Jonathan, Lord, Christopher J, Ding, Ke, Chinnaiyan, Arul M

Comparative transcriptomics reveals a mixed basal, club, and hillock epithelial cell identity in castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025
Pitzen, Samuel P, Rudenick, Amber N, Qiu, Yinjie, Zhang, Weijie, Munro, Sarah A, McCluskey, Braedan M, Forster, Colleen, Bergom, Hannah E, Ali, Atef, Boytim, Ella, Lafin, John T, Linder, Simon, Ismail, Mazlina, Devlies, Wout, Sessions, Conner J, Claessens, Frank, Joniau, Steven, Attard, Gerhardt, Zwart, Wilbert, Nelson, Peter S, Corey, Eva, Wang, Yuzhuo, Lang, Joshua M, Beltran, Himisha, Strand, Douglas, Antonarakis, Emmanuel S, Hwang, Justin, Murugan, Paari, Huang, R Stephanie, Dehm, Scott M

Deciphering the Transcription Factor Landscape in Prostate Cancer Progression: A Novel Approach to Understand NE Transdifferentiation.

Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany), 2025
Wang, Yu, Xue, Hui, Zhu, Xiaohui, Lin, Dong, Chen, Zheng, Dong, Xin, Chen, Junru, Shi, Mingchen, Ni, Yuchao, Cao, Jonathan, Wu, Rebecca, Kang, Connie, Pang, Xinyao, Crea, Francesco, Lin, Yen-Yi, Collins, Colin C, Gleave, Martin E, Parolia, Abhijit, Chinnaiyan, Arul, Ong, Christopher J, Wang, Yuzhuo
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